A couple minutes of terror Friday is likely the biggest reason the Dalton High School girls' basketball team won't be playing for a state championship next week.
Midtown turned around a 47-43 Dalton lead early in the final period of their GHSA Class AAAAA semifinal at the University of West Georgia with a 16-0 run, and it proved to be too much for the Lady Catamounts to overcome as the Atlanta program advanced with a 73-63 win.
Dalton ends its season at 21-10 after reaching the state Final Four for the first time since 2013.
"For the most part, we took care of the ball, which was a key for us coming in," Dalton coach Hannah Harris said. "They had a huge fourth quarter, and one of the scouting reports I got on them is that they are in incredible shape. I thought we were more athletic at some positions, but dang, they can run all day."
In a game full of runs, Jolie Wingfield's layup off a pass from Grace Ridley gave Dalton the 47-43 lead 20 seconds into the final eight minutes, capping a 9-0 run that began with 53 seconds left in the third when Emma Hefner hit a 3-pointer to cap a personal run of 11 points.
Just 10 seconds after making the layup, however, Wingfield was hit with her fourth foul and exited the game. Less than a minute later, BB Bates collected her fourth foul and also had to sit. Midtown hit each of the four free throws associated with the fouls surrounding a Briaiah Lewis short jumper to retake the lead, 49-47. Alexia Davis, after a Dalton miss, hit a short jumper off a fast break, and Harris tried to stem the rally with a timeout.
It didn't work.
Dalton turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play — the first of three consecutive turnovers — and Midtown took advantage with layups by Hailey Wortman and Sinclair Richman and short jumpers by Alexis Davis and Lewis for a very quick 12-point edge.
"They went nuts," Harris said of the Knights. "We tried to curb it by calling timeouts, but they still kept going. One thing I knew going in was that we didn't want to extend our defense for large portions of the game because they handle the ball so well. When we got down there, we tried to change the momentum by pressing a bit, but they took advantage and got up double figures."
Still, as it had all game, Dalton rallied again, with Bates making a layup to ignite a 7-3 run and get her team within 62-55 with 2:33 remaining. The last point came on a Bates free throw after Midtown was hit with a technical foul for having six players on the court.
The Lady Cats, however, threw the ball away on the inbounds play, and after Wingfield picked up her fifth foul, Davis made two free throws. Hefner kept Dalton hopes alive with a corner 3-pointer, her fourth of the game and the last of her team-high 22 points, but the Knights remained aggressive.
Devin Bockman scored six points in the final 1:18 to clinch the trip to next Thursday's title game in Macon against Atlanta rival Maynard Jackson — a 77-57 winner Friday over Cartersville, the Region 7 runner-up this season to Dalton.
Ridley ended her Dalton career with 16 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, with fellow senior Kemara Washington adding seven points and four steals. Bates and Wingfield contributed seven points each in abbreviated outings due to their foul trouble.
"This team, in particular, will go down as one of the most special teams I've ever coached," said Harris, a former Dalton player. "Our four seniors, who I came in with, mean so much to me, and they have been the heart and soul of this program.
"We just wore out, I think, and on this night they had more bullets in their gun than we did. They were great kids to compete against. I hate we lost, but they were a worthy opponent, so that makes it somewhat easier. It was what a Final Four game should be."
Lewis led Midtown (27-5) with 22 points, including 13 in the first half when the team's leading scorer this season, Bockman, sat early with two fouls. Richman added 18 points, Bockman 11 and Barton 12 for the Knights.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.